“It’s not your normal game,” said Jeff Slater of Norwell. “This is more than hockey tonight. The hockey game is somewhat secondary to 18,000 people who are saying, ‘We’re not afraid of who did this. We stand united.’ If 9/11 never happened, maybe I’d feel differently. But we’ve seen the healing power of sports. We have seen what our teams can do for our community.”

These are platitudes, of course, but that doesn't mean they aren't true. When Daniel Paille one-timed a pass from Chris Kelly past Ryan Miller 5:45 into the game, no one in that arena was thinking about the marathon bombings, if just for a second of jubilation. At its most useless, sport is a distraction. At its most vital, sport is a distraction.

The Bruins would lose this one in absolutely heartbreaking fashion. As the Sabres pulled their goalie and the final seconds counted down, the crowd erupted in a modified chant. Not "let's go Bruins," but "let's go Boston." In the middle of that perfect scene, a Buffalo goal. The Sabres would go on to win the shootout. But the one point clinched a playoff spot for the Boston, and the promise of more anthems, more distracting goals to come.

During pregame warmups, Buffalo captain Drew Stafford Thomas Vanek skated over to Bruins captain Zdeno Chara with an idea. What if, he proposed, at the end of the game, no matter who won, both teams gathered at center ice and saluted the crowd and the city? And that's exactly what happened: